A Confusion of Prophets

From the 1830s, horoscopic astrology staged a comeback among the urban middle-classes in England. Part of the popular Victorian fascination with mesmerism, magic and the occult, astrology was particularly disturbing to the intellectual and moral authorities. This book examines the colourful mental and cultural underworld of men like "Raphael", "Zadkiel" and Alan Leo, who exploited and created this demand, and their patrons and clients. These included sensation-seeking aristocrats and people hungry for self-knowledge, but disillusioned with the orthodox religion and with the new scientific answers. Patrick Curry is the author of "Prophecy and Power: Astrology in Early Modern England".